23 January 2024
By Tom Collins
tom@TheCork.ie
Need to progress next gen ticketing on all public transport
Labour Party Candidate in Cork City Peter Horgan has welcomed the move by Irish Rail to introduce E-tickets on intercity services.
“Finally we are moving rail travel on a level like air travel where you have an E-ticket,” said Mr Horgan,
“We all know or have knowledge of those who misplace tickets and are forced to repurchase tickets at full price. It was a strange situation where getting a train to Dublin from Charleville you were issued a QR Code but those from Kent had to secure the paper slip,”
“We now need this rolled out as a priority across all Public transport and especially in Cork as a frontloaded effort on Bus Connects to encourage usage. Digital next gen ticketing is here and it shouldn’t take a year for the fleet to be fitted with the capability that is second nature in most European public transport hubs.
We have a congestion crisis in Cork and need the radical but costed proposal of the €9 Climate Ticket to reduce costs for all commuters in Cork
The Climate Ticket that would allow unlimited public transport access for €9 a month. Figures released to Labour and Mr Horgan showed that the introduction of the €9 Climate Ticket in Cork on all public service obligation (PSO) services in Cork City is likely to incur an annual additional cost in the range of €9 million to €19 million.
Said Mr Horgan, a long time proponent of the scheme:
“Even to introduce just in Cork on 6months at the top cost side would cost €9 million. Where is the ambition to even trial it here? Labour’s flagship climate measure in our Alternative Budget 2024 was the introduction for one year of a pilot €9 monthly Climate ticket for public transport, modelled on the German scheme. Based on that example, and the NTA estimated cost range of €235m to €411m, we have costed this proposal at €330m over 2024.”
In three months, the German scheme save 1.8 million tonnes of CO2 emissions – equivalent to the annual output from 388,000 vehicles. In Ireland, that would be the equivalent of taking 23,000 cars off the road. If introduced, our Climate ticket would help people make the move to public transport, save costs on fuel, and help Ireland meet our emission targets. Imagine the impact that would have in Cork city of reducing the traffic jams. It’s not anti-car, it’s pro-commuter to help with costs and ensure they are supported.”